- Description:
Stems are sprawling up to 2½ feet long and prickly. Leaves are 4 inches long and divided
into many small, oblong leaflets. Flowers are in dense, ball-shaped, pink clusters and
dotted with yellow pollen.
- Comments:
When the leaves of this plant are touched, they fold, thus the common name
“sensitive.” Briar refers to the hooked prickles along the stem and fruit. The
seed pods form in clusters and are long, slender, strongly-ribbed and densely prickly.
Sensitive-briar has high protein content and is relished by livestock. Cattle select this
plant as a conditioner. Sensitive-briar is an important range condition indicator and
considered a decreaser. Although usually rare in pastures, plants can be abundant in
ungrazed meadows and prairie roadsides. Sensitive-briar is found on upland prairies and
roadsides throughout the state.
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